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Ottoman Map of the Arabian Peninsula – Mehmed Eşref’s Tarih-i Umumi ve Osmanî Atlası (1913)
Description:
A striking Ottoman-era color lithograph map of the Arabian Peninsula and its surrounding regions, published in 1329 AH (1913 CE) as part of Mehmed Eşref’s monumental work Tarih-i Umumi ve Osmanî Atlası (“General and Ottoman Historical Atlas”).
This atlas, printed in Istanbul, contains 32 plates with a total of 138 maps, representing one of the most ambitious Ottoman cartographic publications of the late imperial period. The present example measures 32.8 × 25.8 cm and is printed on a double-page sheet with three detailed insets.
The map illustrates the Arabian Peninsula before and after the advent of Islam, depicting tribal distributions, early Islamic conquests, and key cities significant to the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates. The use of vivid colors, fine engraving, and Ottoman Turkish script reflect both scientific precision and artistic elegance typical of early 20th-century Ottoman cartography.
Produced during the final years of the Ottoman Empire, this map not only offers geographical insight but also mirrors the intellectual and educational reforms of the late Tanzimat and Second Constitutional periods, when the study of history and geography was being systematically modernized.
Key Features:
- Title: Arabian Peninsula – Before and After Islam
- From: Tarih-i Umumi ve Osmanî Atlası by Mehmed Eşref
- Publication Date: 1329 AH (1913 CE)
- Place of Publication: Istanbul
- Printing Technique: Color lithograph
- Sheet Size: 32.8 × 25.8 cm
- Layout: Double-page map with three insets
- Language: Ottoman Turkish
- Subject: Historical and geographical representation of the Arabian Peninsula, with references to the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties
- Significance:
- From one of the most comprehensive Ottoman historical atlases ever produced.
- Illustrates the Ottoman intellectual engagement with Islamic history and geography during the early 20th century.
- A fine example of late Ottoman lithographic printing and educational cartography.